Fire Fighting C-130s Head Home

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Two military transport planes that are specially equipped to fight wildfires have returned to their home base in Cheyenne. The two C-130 planes operated by the Wyoming Air National Guard have been flying out of Boise, Idaho, for the past several weeks. A slowdown in fire activity enabled the planes to return home over the Labor Day weekend. The planes from the 153rd Airlift Wing are fitted with equipment that can drop up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant in just a few seconds. Four such planes belonging to Reserve and Guard units based in Colorado, North Carolina and California continue to fight wildfires this summer. Military C130s have dropped almost 2.3 million gallons of fire retardant in the U.S. this year, the most since the 1994 fire season.